Conduit-discharge means



March 25, 1958 v P..sPENcE 2,828,154

coNnulT-DscI-IARGE MEANS Filed March l0, 1954 u "w `B'UL 55N SPE/VCE' ATTORNEY5 Myvinvention relates to materialshasndling egpiprnent, asGfor/ ltheeparatin and"accumu tion, of satidtoQ the United Staaf@Y Passt eggclusionofswater, in the case offawater suspensipnpf sand.

, It is an object of.;theginventionitof,provide improved meansmof the`v character indicated.

"It is another object-tol provide animproved" materialshandling construction in which a heavy suspension in a liquid may be accumulated in a more uniformly spread pile sloping away from the point of discharge.

It is also an object to provide a conduit-discharge device to promote accumulation of a sand pile immediately adjacent a backstop or retaining wall, Without eroding the backstop or any accumulations between the pile and the backstop.

It is a further object to provide a relatively simple discharge device lending itself to connection to available conduits.

Other objects and various further features of novelty and invention will be pointed out or will occur to those skilled in the art from a reading of the following specitcation in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In said drawings, which show, for illustrative purposes only, preferred forms of the invention:

Fig. 1 is a side view, partly in section, illustrating a conduit-discharge member incorporating features of the invention and schematically indicating how a solid pile accumulation may be promoted through the use of the device; and

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side view of a modification.

Briey stated, my invention contemplates the application of an abrupt flow-terminating and flow-reversing chamber at the end of a discharge conduit for the handling of heavy solid suspensions in water or other fluid; my reversing chamber promptly discharges the suspension after having reversed the How. In the case of sand suspensions in Water, as customarily encountered in gravel and sand-dredging operations, the water will push the sand, so that, when discharged into a sand pile, the water and sand run-olf backsv up and erodes the backstop or any accumulations between the point of discharge and the backstop. On the other hand, with my invention, I achieve such flow reversal that the sand tends to be discharged, to settle, and to accumulate essentially uphill from the water, and the run-off water and sand will spread uniformly away from the point of discharge, thus creating a substantially uniform gradient sloping away from the backstop, and leaving the backstop intact.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, my invention is shown in application to a conduit-discharge member 5 applied as a terminal tting' to an open ume or trough 6 constituting the discharge end of a sand or the like processing establishment. The device 5 may comprise essentially a chamber 7 of effective cross-sectional area preferably substantially exceeding that of the inlet or supply flume 6. In the form shown, the supply ume 6 1S semi-cylindrical, and the peripherally continuous na 2,828,164 Patented Mar. 25,' 1958 fi e lCC

2P; Y ture of the: clrcambenf 5 isa convenientlyf establishedf by merelytseamaweldingaat 8-a relatively. shortiinverted length off thet-` flume:` material: over.'V the endt of the:A ume 6' as shown.: In-order. tot.. stopand; reversel flow, Il close:` the downstream` end iofi'the chamber; 7', as:` at.` 9, and `provide aa tx-'ansverselyort` downwardly. extending discharge .f outlet '10 Lcommunicatingwit-h :thedownstream-.endiof :the: cham'- ber 7;: Thedischarge-outlet\1tl.is-preferably of;substan tially theLeffectiveecross-sectional:area.of the: chamber. 7, and I have showndtfas4 aatubularA member welded' at111 tcx-chamber 7.* and bracedfzby. bracketsorf gussetsf 1-2 at botlrisideseof theeinnencornersoffthe joint betweenmembers 7-10. The angle betweenthe.inlet-owiaxis and tlregdisehargetaxis fin'otitletilsis preferablygan acute angle,

shown..

In use, a strong ow of sand or the like-. suspendedin water: om other: uid 2 may. be. passed' continuouslydown thexumeiaand-'reversed in fitting. 5-.for discharge through -thefuoutlet 1111 Thetconstruction ,will cause ow reversal, iastsuggestedibythe: arrow-13;. with the resultthatk the predominant. body tof-water. iscdischarged below thefpredominant body of sand. Resulting direct water run-off is suggested by the arrow 14. The sand pile Will tend to accumulate as suggested by the prole 15, without noticeable loss of sand through the water run-off and, if desired, a fill close against a backstop or wall 16 may be achieved. The slope of the fill away from the backstop will depend upon the amount of sand in the water and on the flow rate, and slopes much more gradual than that shown in the drawing may be achieved. The slope of this type of lill contrasts sharply with that of the sand-pile prole 17, which is ordinarily obtained through direct discharge of the sand suspension without ow reversal.

If it should develop that the ow transiently becomes predominantly water, with relatively little sand suspension, there may be a substantial increase in flow rate, causing possibly excessive reaction thrust at wall 9; to oifset such excessive thrust development, I provide a relief opening in the lower end of chamber 5, as at 19, functioning to bypass excessive water flow. Opening 19 is relatively small compared to the cross-sectional area of chamber 9; therefore, chamber 9 may nevertheless be said to be effectively closed.

In Fig. 2, I show a construction which may, in substantially all respects, resemble that described in Fig. l, and therefore corresponding parts have been given the same reference numerals. The only difference n the construction of Fig. 2 is that the inlet 20 to the chamber 7 is so formed, as with a standard pipe ange 22, as to accommodate removable attachment to a closed conventional conduit 23.

It will be seen that I have described an extremely simple y construction lending itself to use in any application in which solid suspensions in fluids are continuously discharged. The invention is applicable to closed-pipe and to open-trough or ume discharges, without in any way interfering with the continuous ow of discharge materials. A sand pile may be accumulated right up to a backwall as shown; or, if the backstop happens to be a bulldozed local pile of sand, a fll can still be made adjacent the bulldozed pile, without eating away the bulldozed pile.

While I have described the invention in detail for the preferred forms shown, it will be understood that modiiications may be made within the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

I claim:

l. In combination, a downwardly inclined open flume for accommodating a continuous flow of liquid containing relatively dense solids suspended therein, a peripherally continuous vbodyY axially aligned with and connected to the lower end of said flume, said body having an effective cross-sectional area substantially exceeding that of 'the flow infsaid flume, meansv effectivelyclosing the downstream end of said body, and a short downwardly and rearwardly directed discharge f tube ,communicating .with thedownstream end of said body and having Yau elective cross-sectional. area substantially exceeding that vof. the ow in said flume, whereby tlow of liquid and solid suspension may be reversed andthe discharged solid may pack highest near the location of. discharge, While the 4. In combination, downwardly inclined conduitrmeans 20 accommodating a continuous ow of liquid with relatively dense solids suspended therein and carried therewith, closure means substantially closing the lower end of said .conduit means said last-defined means having an effective cutting the bank. 1

cross-sectional area substantially exceeding that of the ow upstream from said end, a relatively short discharge nozzle communicating with the lower end of said conduit means and discharging downwardly and rearwardly in the sense of ow down said conduit means and also having an efective cross-sectional area substantially exceeding that of the ow upstream from said end, whereby the liquid and solid flow may be reversed, so that dischargedsolid distribution away from.the .vicinity ofthe point of discharge may develop a gradual ldownwardly inclined bank. over whichthe liquid may freely run ohC without 5. The combinationuovfnclaimrrf, in said closure means at said lower end is an enlarged chamber.

References Cited in the le of this patent Y VUNITED STATES PATENTS 611,569 Dj'ckham septum 189s 891,191 Shinn June 16, 1.908 '2,262,879' Beckey N0v.18,194t

` FOREIGN PATENTS g France Oct. 22, 1927 

